Late Night
by tintedlarry
Summary: One Direction AU. Wandering the corridors of Hogwarts after hours, Harry Styles is desperate not to get caught. But just as luck would have it, he is - by the most intriguing Prefect.
1. Late Night

Harry gripped his wand tightly as he shuffled down the dark corridor, licking his lips nervously. There wasn't a single torch lit on the walls, and Harry had no idea which door he'd slipped through in his frantic desire not to get caught by the approaching footsteps. Now he was inching his way against the cold wall, not daring to light his wand in case he attracted unwanted attention. Harry was alone now, since fearless ol' Niall had run off not even a minute after entering the dim Entrance Hall. He'd scurried back through the door that led to the underground Common Room, leaving Harry hissing his name after him.

Harry was beyond frustrated that his best mate had ditched him and their plan for that night when they were both so enthusiastic about it earlier that week. There wasn't much Harry could do once Niall made the split-second decision to leave; he was sure his friend was faster than he was and would've made it back inside his Common Room before Harry could lay a hand on him. So instead of chasing Niall back to the fruit painting, Harry had decided to continue on with their plan of sabotaging their Transfiguration test the next day by himself.

Upon hearing foreign footsteps echoing near the top of the Grand Staircase, though, Harry had made a mad dash for the nearest door off the Hall and secluded himself behind it. Engulfed by silence once more, Harry had calmed his thudding heart as much as he could and started off down the hallway.

It took him a good ten minutes of slow and nervous treading, all the while mentally cursing Niall, before his foot hit something solid. Even at the slow pace he was moving, the sudden stop threw Harry forward with a small yelp. He landed on a set of steps, rough and made of stone.

"Well this is just ridiculous," muttered Harry, and he gripped his wand in his sweaty hand and whispered, "_Lumos!_"

Eyes adjusting to the sudden light, Harry shone his wand in front of him. There were about twenty stairs climbing up before the rest of the staircase disappeared around a bend. Hand trailing on the railing-less wall to steady himself, Harry hurried up the old stones.

On the landing at the top of the staircase, where Harry had assumed there'd be a door of some sort, was a blank wall. Terrified and feeling suddenly claustrophobic, Harry spun in a circle, shining the light from his wand in every direction. If he had to go all the way back down the stairs and up that corridor into the Entrance Hall, he was sure to get-

There! Tucked away, Harry saw, was an opening in the wall about a meter wide. He slipped through it, immediately running into a heavy, large piece of fabric that completely covered the opening. It was a tapestry at least three times as wide as the slim entryway. Harry hurriedly shuffled out from behind it, grinning with relief when he saw he was now in a tall, moonlit, main hallway. Although which hallway, he really had no idea.

Harry's stomach had been clenched like an iron fist for the past half hour, and now with his freedom he instantly felt the buzz of post-adrenaline. He knew it was stupid, but he was upset that the short fearful jaunt was over; it had felt like the biggest thrill of his life. Examining the purple and gold tapestry closer now, Harry chuckled. He'd have to remember this little secret for later.

With a sinking feeling, he then realized that, although he had made it out of the Entrance Hall safely and without getting caught, he now had absolutely no idea where in the castle he was; he did assume, though, that he was very far away from his Common Room.

_Well_, thought Harry, _no use in just standing here waiting for a teacher to find me._ He extinguished his wand, then choosing at random, he turned and stepped lightly down the corridor, stopping before he rounded the corner. There wasn't any noise of prowling teachers or ghosts; the noises were Harry's breathing and the distant hoot of an owl.

As Harry continued on his way, nothing was really becoming clearer. Was this the Charms corridor? It looked a bit like it, but Harry didn't see the familiar classroom anywhere as he walked further down the hall. _Maybe I'll be able to tell by looking at the grounds…_ Harry wondered. He looked for a window low enough for him to peer out of onto the dark Hogwarts landscape. He knew where in the castle he could see the Quidditch Pitch from, and also Hagrid's small hut.

Harry stifled a yawn as he trotted up to a window, feeling bitter about how his night had been wasted and he'd lost sleep for nothing. He knew he'd be exhausted for classes tomorrow and he was most likely going to fail the Transfiguration test. Niall was getting a good punch on the arm tomorrow at breakfast.

Pressing his hands and forehead to the cold glass of the window, Harry scanned the dark green grounds. His face fell in defeat as all he could see in both directions was the vast Forbidden Forest, almost inky black in the shadow of the castle.

Now Harry was worried. He was getting groggy in the late hour and his stomach felt like there were flobberworms crawling inside him. He stuffed his wand into his robes and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He'd just have to continue along the corridors until he came across something familiar. If he avoided any confusing side passages and only used the common, mostly stationary staircases, there was no reason he wouldn't eventually-

"Hey!" a voice punctured the silence at the end of the corridor, making Harry freeze on the spot. It felt like someone had yanked a chain at the bottom of his stomach, draining his insides.

_Oh no, oh no, oh shit shit **shit**,_ Harry screamed in his head as he remained still. Maybe if he didn't move, the person wouldn't see him. Maybe if he thought it hard enough, the stranger would disappear. Maybe.

But the person's footsteps continued straight to Harry's still form, stiff with fright. Harry had no idea what actually happened when you got caught out of bed after hours, having heard different horror stories from multiple people.

Thankfully, he hadn't been caught by the Headmaster, or any other teacher. It was a boy who walked up to Harry, still mostly dressed in his day uniform. His wand was out, and Harry saw on his chest was a silver Prefect badge.

"And what, may I ask, do you think you're doing?" the boy questioned Harry with eyebrows raised. Harry lowered his hands from his hair, flopping them down by his sides.

"Erm…" he started, but could quite literally think of nothing to offer as an excuse of why he was out of bed. If he told the Prefect the truth, that he had been planning to sneak into the Transfiguration classroom and steal the tests, he'd get into deep trouble. "Well, see I was… I was just…"

"Yes?" the boy prompted, hands moving to his hips. Gauging how stern this Prefect was, Harry searched his face in the light from the window. His eyes looked tired-probably from lots of night watches. But despite the bags, Harry saw that this boy's eyes were…well…beautiful. They looked like they belonged on a girl, with their long eyelashes and pretty shape. He also had a firm-looking mouth, but like someone who smiled a lot. And his hair was messy; it was swept out of his eyes and stuck up a bit in places. Harry thought this boy was lovely, and wondered wildly how he had never seen him before.

The boy changed from looking stern and suspicious to a bit weirded-out, as Harry simply looked at him, not finishing his sentence.

"Look, mate," he tried again, making Harry drop his gaze and return to looking guilty. "What have you been up to? Have you just been wandering around by yourself, or is there some sort of mess I have to go and clean up?"

Asking him a more direct questioned pulled an answer out. "I was just trying to find my way back to my Common Room. I went though a passageway and got lost," Harry fidgeted.

"Yeah, I would say so," the Prefect responded, looking at the patch on Harry's robes. "You're up on the fourth floor, mate."

Harry bit his lip in embarrassment. "Oh," he muttered. "Right." He had absolutely no idea what to do. He didn't want to ask the Prefect about his own punishment, that would just be plain stupid. So instead he simply coughed quietly, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

The other boy sighed loudly, rubbing his face tiredly. He scrutinized Harry, clearly seeing that the kid felt bad enough simply about being caught.

"Alright, listen," he said to Harry plainly. "Here's what needs to happen: I'm supposed to take you to Professor Slughorn immediately and tell him that I caught you wandering the halls after hours so he can decide on an appropriate punishment for you."

Harry's face fell; that was the _last_ thing he wanted to happen. Slughorn would probably end up writing his parents, who he were sure wouldn't be pleased to hear of Harry's rule-breaking at all.

"But," the older boy continued. "That would take quite some time and a lot of effort on my part, and I am feeling rather exhausted. So what I'm _going_ to do is take you back to your Common Room myself and make sure you stay there. And there's no real reason for Professor Slughorn or anyone else to know what happened. All right?"

Harry's face pulled up into a smile of disbelief, and he almost laughed. And although the seriousness in the Prefect's face was draining, Harry most certainly didn't want to annoy him and make him go back on his deal. He straightened his face out and nodded, looking again into the boy's pretty eyes. It looked like he was almost going to smile at Harry, but instead he turned and headed in the direction he came from. "Come on, then," he called to Harry over his shoulder.

Harry followed the boy in silence, across halls and down staircases. On one of them, the boy stuck an arm out to stop Harry in his tracks before he could continue stepping down. The boy took a large stride over two stairs in the middle, obviously avoiding them for good reason. Harry's legs being a bit shorter, he had to use the rail in an attempt to not lose his balance, but lurched forward after stepping all the same. The older boy grabbed Harry's torso and shoulders, stopping him from slipping down the stairs. His hands were strong and warm gripping Harry through his robes. His neck feeling hot, Harry coughed and thanked the boy as he let go.

They reached the Entrance Hall in another minute, Harry still trailing after the Prefect. Through the door to the dungeons, down the stone steps, and reaching the stretch of rough wall at the end of the corridor, Harry and the boy stopped walking.

"Right," Harry said a bit uncomfortably. "Thanks for, um…Well for doing this."

The Prefect raised his brows again and smiled a bit. "You're welcome. But I hope you know this doesn't always happen, and you shouldn't expect this if you're ever caught again. But you _won't_ be caught again because you _won't_ sneak out after hours again, will you?"

Harry, feeling uneasy, mumbled a "Right, right," to the ground. With nothing else to be said, Harry turned to the wall and muttered, "Doxy eggs," watching as a stone door that was previously hidden appeared in front of him. Harry didn't go in, though. His night had been rather exciting, and this boy he was standing with was rather mysterious. He had never seen him before fifteen minutes ago, and was worried he'd never see him again.

"You have a good night, then," the boy said to Harry, turning to make his way back up the corridor.

"Wait!" Harry called before he could stop himself. The Prefect turned and waited for Harry to continue. Harry licked his lips, his mind going blank. What did he want to say? What _could_ he say? What did he want to tell this strange boy, who he'd never seen a day in his life but was now so reluctant to leave? Who was he? "W-What's your name?" Harry managed to get out, hands beginning to sweat slightly.

The older student looked confused for a moment, then chuckled quietly. "Louis," he answered. "Louis Tomlinson."

Harry nodded, unable to think of anything more to say to him. The boy, Louis, gave a nod signifying the end of the conversation. "Have a good night," he said as he turned and left Harry in front of the Common Room door.

Harry slipped inside, hearing the door magically click and lock behind him. He crossed the green-lit room to the dormitory staircase, yawning once more. Up in his room, after quietly sneaking to his bed, he stripped down to nothing and climbed under the covers. He could still get a decent amount of sleep before his dormmates began waking for the day. His brain clouded quickly as he buried into his pillow. He decided that tomorrow at breakfast, after he cuffed his idiot of a best friend for running like a pansy, he'd start taking notice around the Great Hall for the Prefects; really for one Prefect in particular. He'd look for the one with the messy hair and the pretty eyes. The one who wasn't too tall and who probably smiled a lot.

And after he found him, maybe he'd thank Niall. Maybe.


	2. Next Morning

Droopy-eyed and lethargic, Harry dragged his feet into the Great Hall. It was bustling with students and teachers, at its peak just before the day's mail arrived. Tempting smells of hotcakes and other morning treats greeted Harry's nose, but he marched straight down the center aisle of the Hall, not even setting his bag down at his table.

Harry's feet carried him to the ringing Irish laugh in the middle of the Hall, and he came to a stop behind his blond friend. The kid sitting on the opposite side of the table, who Harry really had never liked, noticed Harry and nudged Niall with disdain. When Niall turned to Harry, a look of slight panic washed over his face. Harry simply stood and stared.

"Harry!" Niall squeaked out. "How-uh… how're yeh?" he tried to chuckle, but it quickly faltered.

Harry let out a frustrated breath, still annoyed with his friend. "Because of _you_, I had to run and hide from getting caught!" Harry said lowly. "I got lost in this stupid castle!"

Niall pulled a face, searching for something to say. "I'm real sorry, mate…" he said, not meeting Harry's eyes. "But hey! at least you _didn't_ get caught!"

At that, Harry cuffed him on the ear, earning a laugh from Niall's surrounding Hufflepuffs. "After I ran, I _did _get caught, you tosser!"

Niall looked genuinely sorry at this, but attempted a bargain instead. He tugged Harry's arm down to his level and lowered his voice. "Look," he said to Harry. "Maybe we can still get the tests before class starts. If I go grab me last Decoy Detonator from me trunk, I can set it off while you grab them off his desk! Trophat'll never notice!"

Harry simply rolled his eyes. Sure, that might actually work, and losing the test papers anytime before class was good enough for him; but he was less upset about their plan backfiring than he was about Niall leaving him in the lurch. His eyes flicked up to the teacher's table, scanning it for their Transfiguration professor. Sitting at the end of the long high table, Trophat was still silently munching his toast. Well, Harry supposed, they could run off and do it right now, before he even began today's classes… They probably had no more than ten minutes, though, before Trophat ventured back to his classroom.

Harry bit his lip, thinking over their options as he lazily looked around the Hall. Eyes jumping from window to stone along the walls, he crossed paths with a pair of bright blue orbs passing the opposite way. His train of thought jerked to a stop as he felt his heart pick up speed. Across the room, leaning against the rough wall with a number of friends, was the Prefect from last night. Louis.

He looked like he was laughing, but he stopped when his and Harry's eyes met. It was brief and unintentional, lasting less than a second, but Harry didn't look away when Louis did. He wasn't sure why he was staring, because Louis wasn't looking back and probably hadn't even noticed him. The older lad continued listening to his friends' conversation…his other older friends…his other _Gryffindor_ friends. Shit.

"Harry?" Niall was tapping on his arm now, quizzically looking at his friend. He laughed and asked, "D'you go somewhere, mate?"

Looking away from the far side of the Hall, Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry, sorry. What were you saying?"

As Niall continued explaining his new plan to deffer their upcoming test, Harry trained his peripheral vision on Louis across the Hall. He nodded in response to Niall's words, really only half-hearing them. His attention wasn't gained until a mass migration of robes caught his eye and he stopped listening to Niall altogether to stare across the Gryffindor table.

"You know what?" Harry cut across Niall's speech, body tensing somewhat. "That sounds great, Niall, and keep telling me later- I've just remembered I've got to…" Harry was slowly backpedaling towards the large doors. "I've left something in my room, I'll see you in class."

Not really thinking at all, Harry strode out of the Great Hall, not answering Niall's confused, "Harry, wait!"

On the other side of the oak doors, he was just behind the loose knot of older Gryffindor students making their way to the marble staircase. Harry slowed his pace a bit, rummaging in his bag to look busy. No one paid the slightest bit of attention to him, though, as more students filed their way through the Entrance Hall on their way to and from breakfast.

Eyes trained on the back of Louis' head, Harry trailed behind the Gryffindors up the stairs and down a smaller hallway. Harry wasn't really thinking about what was happening at this point, entirely focused on keeping Louis in his sight. He wondered what class Louis went to first on a Friday. He and his friends seemed to be going in the complete opposite direction of Harry's Transfiguration class, and that concerned him a bit. He really needed to turn around and meet up with Niall…

Louis' barking laugh caught Harry's full attention and he smiled. He wanted to get closer to Louis, maybe get him to see and recognize Harry from last night. It was a long shot, but hey, this was entirely new and exciting.

The bell rang across the castle, and half of Louis' group of friends slowed to a stop, voiced their goodbyes, and made their way down another hallway for apparently a different class. They came at Harry in the opposite direction, causing him to weave between robes and bags brushing past him as he tried to continue down the hallway.

A small thunder of footsteps from a staircase on Harry's right then emptied into the corridor, as a gaggle of frantic first year Ravenclaws scurried around Harry clutching rolls of inky parchment. There was an incredible amount of confusion in the small hallway with the growing amount of students, and by the time they'd cleared from in front of Harry, Louis and the rest of his friends were nowhere in sight.

Flustered, and with an empty, hollow feeling in his stomach, Harry stood in the corridor and bit his lip. He felt stupid for even trying this in the first place. How far along did he really think he would get? There was a reason he and Louis had never crossed paths before; because it was impossible to do so in this huge castle. Feeling quite sorry for himself, he turned on his heel and shuffled back toward the main staircase. He supposed he might as well try to meet up with Niall back at the Great Hall and head for class together.

Turning the corner at the end of the hallway, he collided with something solid that let out a big, breathy, "Uff!"

Harry looked up, completely startled. He felt like a ball of electricity had come to life in his stomach. Louis had abruptly reappeared, surprise also written on his face.

"Sorry, mate-" Louis began, but faltered as he took in his younger peer. "Well, well…" his face relaxed a bit. "This is funny."

Harry had no response, and suddenly felt a little intimidated by the smirk that was making its way onto Louis' face. Louis looked him over, seeming confused as to why Harry was so still and silent. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Harry managed to shake his head.

"Good," Louis said, shifting his bag on his shoulder. "Well…" he stepped around Harry, giving the same sort of small nod as he did when they last left each other, and made to continue down the hall.

"This is funny?" Harry blurted out to Louis' back. It was as if Harry's mind had lost all ability to control his mouth.

Louis stopped and turned back to Harry. "Sorry?" he questioned.

Well jeeze, now Harry had to continue talking. His throat felt thick and dry, as if he hadn't drunk water for a week. "You-" he cleared his throat. "You said that this was funny. How's it funny?"

Louis looked perplexed for a second, then chuckled. "I dunno," he said, cocking his head to the side. "It's just funny how I caught you last night and now I've run into you again so soon after. And I'm pretty sure these are the only two times I've ever seen you in my life. Which is also funny, seeing as you're obviously not a first year," he shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "I dunno," he said again.

Harry struggled with a response because, well… this Prefect he was talking to was distractingly cute. Harry did, however, choose not to mention that them running into each other today was mostly intentional on his part. Instead, he nodded and said, "Oh."

There was silence after that, and poor Louis looked a bit embarrassed by the conversation. He coughed and looked around the now empty corridor. "Right, so I should get to my class… You should too," he said, giving Harry a pointed look. "I can't get you out of two detentions, you know."

Harry raised his brows and quickly said, "No, no, right. I… Yeah, I'm going." Feeling a blush begin in his cheeks, he backed towards the corner Louis had come around, feeling silly and young and embarrassed.

Louis smiled again and said, "Just joking, mate, don't worry… What's your name?"

Harry swallowed. "Uh, H-Harry. Name's Harry."

"Harry," Louis finished with a nod. "Well get to class then, Harry. And hopefully if I do see you again, I won't be scolding you," he said with a smile. Harry grinned in return as Louis turned and left the corridor at last.

When Louis was out of sight, Harry let out a laugh of disbelief. Had that actually turned out more or less in his favor? He had no idea why he felt so happy about the small exchange that had just happened, but the smile wouldn't leave his face. Was it normal to feel like this after seeing and talking to someone new? Someone… someone you liked? This was foreign territory. Harry was used to feeling nervous talking to a really pretty girl, like the few girlfriends he'd had during past summers. But this was different, this was someone older and cleverer and…well, a boy. A boy who made Harry feel excited and alert and giddy for some strange reason. He wasn't sure if Niall or anyone else would understand what he was feeling, especially since he didn't even know how to fully explain it. It felt like a special secret just for him. And although Louis had just left, Harry felt anxious and impatient to see him again, to feel that same rush of happiness and electricity. It was so bizarre.

But the buzz in Harry's stomach remained as he made his way back across the castle, finally subsiding when he slid through the Transfiguration classroom door. He dropped into his seat next to a slightly disgruntled Niall just as Trophat turned to face the class, a stack of awaiting parchment in his hands.


	3. Christmas train snapshot

_Just a small drabble of the train ride home for Christmas holidays._

word count: 987

"Is all your family magic?" Harry asked, absentmindedly peeling apart a liquorice wand.

Louis rested back against the opposite seat of the train compartment and shook through his box of Every Flavour Beans, inspecting carefully. "Yep, every one. Well, all 'cept my dad. He and his family are all Muggles, but we don't see them much. And when we do it's hush-hush about all things magical." He selected a grassy green bean and a warm yellow and popped them both into his mouth.

Harry nodded in understanding, thinking of his own Muggle step-father's family.

Louis continued, "My mum's the proudest witch who ever was, though, and she told my dad all about it even before they planned on getting married." He smiled and brushed at his long fringe hanging in his eyes. "I remember," he chuckled, "hearing of this one time my mum brought my dad over to her house for dinner with her parents, but she didn't tell them he already knew about it all, and my grandmum almost shoved the cat into the roast trying to hide some bit of magic."

Harry breathed a laugh and a grin split onto his face, letting the dimple on his cheek peek out. Louis' stare locked onto it for a bit longer than it should have, and he swallowed and smiled back at Harry's eyes briefly before going back to digging around in the carton of Every Flavour Beans.

There was a bit of a silence before Louis asked, "So what about you then, Curly? Much magic go on 'round your place?"

"Not really, no," Harry said thoughtfully. "I mean there's some magic in my outer family, but in my house, I'm the only one."

Louis gave a very interested look, his lips drawn in a question and his eyebrows raised. "Really! How's that?"

Harry cleared his throat a couple times from the lingering taste of anise that coated his mouth and said, "Erm.. Well I have a couple magic aunts and uncles, I guess. And like, cousins probably. But my mum isn't magic and neither is my sister. My dad was, and more people in his family were, I think. But I, like... didn't really grow up with it, you know what I mean? Cause my dad left right before I started showing signs of it, but I was pretty late, and because Gem hadn't either I think my parents just assumed the magic had skipped our generation."

"That is so weird," Louis mused as he set aside the candy in his hand. "Me and all my sisters are magic. I wonder why it's so different?"

Harry shrugged. "Who knows?"

Louis stretched and twisted in his seat to wake his bones while Harry watched and licked his lips unconsciously. "So, um" he cleared his throat again. "How many sisters ve'you got?"

"Four," Louis replied, giving him a pointed look. "All younger."

Harry offered an empathizing laugh. "Sounds rough. They get to you?"

"Nah, not much. It's quite nice not seeing them for so long while I'm at school, makes me excited to see them when I come home for the holidays."

"You said they're all magic; when do they get to come up themselves?"

"Actually, Lottie's just started her first year. Sorted into Gryffindor," Louis said proudly.

Internally, Harry huffed in frustration. Why hadn't he known Louis before, or at least even heard about him? He tried thinking back to this year's sorting ceremony in desperation, wracking every inch of his brain for a memory of a young Tomlinson girl being called to the wooden stool, but got nothing.

"Is she coming home then, too?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, she's somewhere around here," Louis waved a hand dismissively. When Harry gave him a condescending smile, Louis added, "I made sure she got on the train!"

"So will all your family be waiting for you at the station?" Harry asked. As soon as the question tumbled out of his mouth, he thought of how strangely personal he was getting with the lad opposite him. But Louis just trilled a laugh and shook his head. "No, no, quite the opposite, in fact. I think they came with me to the station all of once to see me off my first year, and that was that. Quite a long drive for the little ones, you see."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm sorry I have to make my mum drive all the way down to London when I'm pretty sure the tracks pass right through Chesire."

"I didn't know you were a northerner as well!" Louis smiled. "We're almost neighbors, you and I."

Harry laughed. "It'd been nicer if we really were." He clamped his teeth shut and felt his face flush. Jesus, what was wrong with him? Around Louis, he either clammed up with nothing coherent to say or he couldn't shut his mouth to save life. Mortified, he concentrated his attention on unwrapping a Pumpkin Pasty and shoving the entire sweet into his mouth.

But Louis just smiled fondly and leaned further back into his seat, a slight blush crawling up his cheeks as well. "Timing didn't really work out this year, with my family and me. Mum couldn't get off work to come get me this year, she likes to do that," Louis' smile grew, but he shrugged. "So I'll be hopping off this train to get right on another headed for home."

"I told my mum it'd be simpler for me to do that, just take the train back up, but she still wanted to come get me herself," Harry gave his eyes a roll. "It's not like it's been years since she saw me, and I've ridden the train before!" Harry's shoulders slumped and his mouth stretched out a yawn.

Louis laughed. "Maybe next year, young lad, when the journey won't tucker you out."

Harry made a face and chucked a pack of Droobles at him.


End file.
